New brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are poised to increase
human productivity, advance entertainment and transform social
interactions. A potential catalyst for all the new media that’s
emerging right now, such devices could play a game-changing role in
the near to mid-term evolution of comm technology.

When I first read Emotiv’s announcement of a brain-wave
reading headset my reaction was lukewarm. But then, as my brain rattled off implication after
implication of this new comm device, it all sank in: “This is
telekinesis. And it’s nearly market-ready!”

Subsequently, a quick search through the Future Scanner for similar
material turned up
a helmet that allows Second Life users to navigate their avatar
simply by thinking about walking. Boom. Another BCI that’s nearly usable. And this one’s been around
for three months already.

After a bit of reflection, I’ve come believe that these
technologies have the potential to truly revolutionize the way that
we play games, drive automobiles, learn in classrooms, surf
information and ultimately relate to other people—and not 20 years
from now, more like 5-10 years.

A product that in 2008 lets you control a video game by
adjusting your mental and emotional states is a big, big deal on
the macro timeline of innovations. It heralds the beginning of a
new era.

“The next major wave of technology innovation will change the
way humans interact with computers,” says Nam Do, co-founder and
CEO of Emotiv Systems. “As the massive
adoption of concepts such as social networking and virtual worlds
has proven, we are incorporating computer-based activities not only
into the way we work, learn, and communicate but also into the way
we relax, socialize and entertain ourselves.”

Nam Do may be selling his company’s system, but his message
resonates with me.

Imagine what the near-term successors to these early
BCI’s will mean for brain-to-brain
bandwidth. Together with virtual worlds, augmented reality, new
semantic technologies, (etc), they have the potential to “lube”
social network effects in a fashion that no human has ever
witnessed.

Sound the trumpets. Telekinetic interfaces have arrived and are
here to stay.

When will you purchase you own personal Brain-Computer Interface?

Comment Thread (1 Response)

While I do think that BCI will be the next big (one of the biggest ever?) thing to happen to communications, entertainment, etc when it arrives, I’m very skeptical about Emotiv’s device. And I don’t see how it can possibly be viewed as “the beginning of a new era”. This headset is nothing more than a pretty bad EEG device that was turned into an absolutely awful computer mouse (one may argue that this is just a first step, i personally don’t foresee any significant progress happening with non-invasive BCIs). There are much more interesting and important advances made in BCIs, for example, decoding optical nerve signals, etc.